


general relativity

by macabre



Series: everything stays [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Adoption, Coming Out, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Depressed Peter Parker, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 06:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18115466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macabre/pseuds/macabre
Summary: “Is this - is this a May thing?” Tony asks, softer. There are certain things that Tony knows Peter has no interest in ever doing again, because it was a May thing. He would hope that talking about his dating life would be open for discussion, but Tony’s not going to push. At least not yet.(Tony learns to be a parent.)





	general relativity

They’re not even done with a lap before Rhodey can’t take it anymore: “Alright, spill. What is going on with you? The legs are fine, man, you don’t have to keep working on a new prototype every month and -”

Tony sighs - dramatically. “Sorry. It’s not about you, it’s about -”

“The kid. I should have known.” Rhodey breaks from their light jog into a crawl. Tony wonders if his friend’s hips are hurting already. “What’s up now?”

“He’s sneaking around.”

Rhodey raises an eyebrow. “You mean, other than donning a skin tight spandex suit that you made for him to play vigilante in?” 

“Yep. Other than that.” Tony chews at his lip. It’s a nervous tick Rhodey hasn’t seen in a few years, but Tony has also been way more sober for a few years. 

“And you think what exactly?” Peter isn’t exactly the kid that Rhodey would worry about getting into drugs or alcohol, and even if he was, Tony is more than suited to steer him clear. 

“I don’t know. He looks upset every time I see him though. There’s something going on, and I’ve gone through every minute of his suit comms -”

“Wow, I see that talk about trust and space went really far.”

“Rhodey. I’m serious. I’m worried about him.”

Rhodey looks at his friend and sighs. He can tell Tony hasn’t been sleeping or eating as well as he should when he’s the only role model Peter has left. 

“These pinch me a little. Right here.”

Later, Tony hovers in the kitchen area waiting for Peter to get home from patrolling. He stirs his veggie mix on the stove, keeps them moving so they won’t stick. It’s midnight, but Tony knows Peter will be hungry, so he’s made the fixings for tacos. His watch beeps to let him know Peter is getting close, so FRIDAY automatically opens his favorite entrance point.

“Hey.” Peter comes in and pulls off the mask. He’s greedily eyeing the lineup. “Tacos?”

“Home made.” 

Peter gives him a small grin and a quick side hug before grabbing a plate. “You didn’t have to.”

That’s what parents do, Tony wants to say, but he doesn’t. Couldn’t. Not to Peter. 

Peter eats standing next to the stove. It’s Saturday tomorrow, so Tony wants to ask if he’ll stay up with him a little longer, but Pete’s always been the kind of kid to stick to a respectable timetable. 

“How’s it going out there?”

Peter shrugs. “Same old.” 

“Got any plans tomorrow?”

“Not really.”

Peter’s not been as chatty lately, and it could be for so many things that Tony doesn’t want to speculate. The kid’s gone through so much, and after their one and only shouting match Tony has learned that proper parenting should include some boundaries, especially for a kid as good as Peter. He doesn’t know how many time he’s tried to tell Peter that his parents were so little involved with him that he just wants to do better, be better. He wants to know anything Pete is willing to tell him.

It’s hard. Tony doesn’t want to push, but he doesn’t want to seem uninterested. 

“I love you, kid.”

Peter stops chewing, eyeing Tony from the corner of his vision. He puts down his food and gives Tony his full attention. “You okay?”

“Of course.” I just worry about you all the time, Tony thinks. I can’t stop wondering what you’re wondering about. I want to hear that I’m doing this right. 

“I love you too, Tony.” Peter smiles at him. It’s a real smile. Not the little ones he hands out to anyone who he thinks needs to see them. 

“I’m headed to bed.” What a lie. 

“Yeah, me too. Goodnight Tony, and thanks for the food!” His voice is full of false optimism. Peter rinses his plate and wonders off through the dark hall to his room.

He leaves his mask on the table, and Tony’s fingers itch to pick it up, but he doesn’t. He scrapes the leftovers into a container and piles the dishes into the sink. 

Tony Stark. Domestic warrior. 

Peter has gotten so lax about all the Spiderman stuff that he’s surprise more people haven’t figured it out. Tony’s not been one to keep secrets, but when it comes to Peter’s secrets, he would go to the grave first. It’s the laxness of it all that made Tony suspicious in the first place - the times that the boy is gone that isn’t accounted for by school or patrolling has grown in the past few months. Peter often says he’s studying with Ned, visiting the cemetery by himself, doing some volunteer stuff for college admissions.

Tony used to keep tighter tabs on Peter, and the Tony that first came into guardianship wouldn’t let Peter have any of his own secrets. 

But. Growth. 

Now Tony just feels helpless like every other parent. Worse maybe, because he knows he could easily figure out whatever it is. 

Peter spends all Saturday gone, from before the time Tony rolls out of bed to the time that Tony rolls out of the lab in the early hours of Sunday. He frowns, peeking in Peter’s room. Perfectly made bed. No sign that he came through at any point. 

He texts Peter to check in on him - headed home? - he asks. There is a pretty immediate response, just a thumbs up. 

The next day Pepper and Rhodey eat brunch with them at the Tower. It’s nice, and he knows Peter appreciates the feeling of having a larger family, if just for a meal.

Peter sits and listens to Pepper tell stories about her recent travels in Singapore, then quietly excuses himself. 

They both turn to Tony as soon as he’s gone.

“There is something up with him.”

“He looks exhausted, Tony.”

“You both look like you’ve lost weight.”

“Whoa, whoa.” Tony holds up his hands. “First of all, I told you both separately that I thought something was going on, and you both basically ignored me.”

“Hey!”

“Second, he can probably hear us right now.”

All three of them look in the direction of his room.

“You’re doing a great job with him Tony, but…maybe he’s doing too much.”

“He’s definitely doing too much,” Tony agrees. “But we’re working on our boundaries, and I trust Peter. So.”

“Boundaries still have limits, Tony. You can’t let him do whatever he wants.”

“He’s home every night, he gets amazing grades, keeps up with his extracurriculars.” He just never spends time with Tony in the lab anymore, or asks to accompany him on trips or expos, or wants to see him outside of a quick meal. 

Of course, almost immediately after this discussion, Peter stays out all night. Tony falls asleep on top of piles of papers waiting for him less than a week later, wakes up, sees the time, and panics.

There is no response when he texts or calls. Tony collapses in Peter’s bed. 

Tony’s finger hovers over his phone - track him. He could be hurt. Track him. Just do it. 

Then he notices the suit folded neatly on top of his dresser. Tony immediately snatches it up in his hands - it’s wholly complete, in perfect condition, and it’s in his hands. Peter doesn’t even have it on him. 

Peter never leaves the suit behind. It’s always either on his body hidden under street clothes or tucked away at the bottom of his backpack. 

Tony sits back down on the bed. He looks around the room - it looks like Peter’s - decorated with all the things he should like, but the thing is, it’s not actually Peter. Tony handpicked everything that went into the room. And Peter just left it. He never added anything. Never moved anything. The room doesn’t even smell like Peter. 

Tony neatly folds the suit back up and puts it where it was. He closes the bedroom door behind him. 

When Peter comes home the next morning, he’s wearing a basketball tee with his high school mascot on it. A t-shirt that is definitely not his. 

He exits the elevator and steps up by Tony as if he hasn’t been gone at all, gives him a short halfhearted hug, then tries to go to his room. 

Tony catches him by the wrist. He looks him over. The shirt. His rumpled pants. The flush on his cheeks and the bags under his eyes. 

Peter watches him too.

Tony lets go of him. Peter walks towards his room, but as he moves away Tony sees it - the bruises barely peeking out under his shirt. Right over his collarbone. 

Tony puts his face in his hands and feels like crying. He feels equally parts stupid and embarrassed for the first time in a long time.

Maybe also a little relieved. 

He decides to make some French toast for Peter. He’s probably hungry. Because he’s always hungry. Or used to be. The guilt starts sinking back in. Why did Tony assume the worst? Is that just being a parent? 

Why didn’t Peter tell him? 

Peter emerges from his room a little over an hour later after a shower, his curls flipping up and dripping on his fresh shirt. He sits across from Tony at the island and watches him plate up the late breakfast. 

Peter accepts the plate but doesn’t eat. He just watches Tony. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

The kid is wearing a baggy enough top that Tony can almost see his collarbones - he wonders if the hickeys are still there, or if they’re already gone. Stolen away by his metabolism. 

Peter shrugs at him, pushing the food around his plate. 

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

Peter nods once. He looks dazed. 

“Is this - is this a May thing?” Tony asks, softer. There are certain things that Tony knows Peter has no interest in ever doing again, because it was a May thing. He would hope that talking about his dating life would be open for discussion, but Tony’s not going to push. At least not yet.

Peter winces at the mention of May - a small thing, but Tony notices. He’s trained his eyes to look for any clue when it comes to Peter. 

“It’s a boy.” Peter looks up at him shyly, biting his lip. 

Tony feels - he’s not sure. It’s not shock or surprise, really. He recalls the t-shirt Peter came in with. More like he doesn’t know if he should feel extra relieved or worried. 

“Oh, Pete. That’s not why you’ve been sneaking around, has it? You know I don’t care, right?” Tony comes around to the boy’s side. He fidgets for a moment - they share quick hugs every once in awhile, a way to say hi and goodbye when it’s too hard to say anything at all. Prolonged physical contact hasn’t been something the two of them have tried - it’s never been easy for Tony, certainly. 

Now, he brushes the hair off Peter’s forehead. He knows the kid is seventeen - old enough for a lot of things. Too old for this maybe, but Tony tilts the kid’s chin up and swipes his thumb over the cheek there. 

“I love you. And it doesn’t matter who you date. Wait, let me back up a second, it does matter who you date, but I mean that less in a gender way and more in a please don’t bring home someone old enough to be your parent. I know I’m not the greatest role model when it comes to romantic things, but please don’t make me hunt anyone down.”

Peter looks up at him, frowning.

“Christ, it’s not-”

“It’s not that.”

A heaviness that has pressed down on them for months now settles even heavier on Tony. He thought they had gotten to the bottom of this, but there’s something else, he realizes.

Don’t push him, he thinks. You can’t push too hard.

Does he want to be pushed?

“Do you want to tell me about him? Because - I would really love to hear about him.” 

They’ve always been candid about things like Spiderman and school. They even had an explicitly candid conversation about Peter’s future legacy with Stark Industries that Peter wasn’t ready for. Tony honestly didn’t think dating would be any harder. 

He wants to ask lots of things - is it only boys? How long has Peter known? How long have they been dating? Tony can guess, but he wants to hear it from the source. 

“He’s - ” Peter sucks in a breath. “He’s a new friend.”

“From school?”

Peter nods.

Okay, so age appropriate boy from Peter’s brainiac school. He can’t be too bad, Tony thinks. He can work with this. 

Peter fidgets. 

“You’ve been seeing him for awhile?”

“Six months? Maybe longer.”

Tony is surprised. The sneaking around has really only been happening for three months. Maybe four if he really stretches it.

“You must like him.” Tony is fishing. He’s already thinking about how he could peek in Peter’s phone. But he won’t.

“Yeah. I’ve wasn’t sure at first.”

Alarm bells go off for a minute - did this kid force Peter into something?

“I didn’t know he was gay. Even after he asked me out, I thought he might be pranking me.”

Tony grips Peter’s shoulder. He jumps. Tony makes himself relax. “Did he ever make you feel weird about it? Did he make you feel weird about anything at all? Did he pressure you into anything?”

Peter watches his gaze move down to his chest. The kid nervously pulls at his shirt. “No. Nothing. He’s - he’s honestly been a real gentleman.”

Tony’s feeling more than a little out of his league. There’s clearly something on Peter’s mind, but he doesn’t seem to want to come out and say it. Does he think that Tony is secretly homophobic? Jesus, Tony has been a grand marshal of both the NYC Pride and LA Pride parades. 

“Kid, I love you. I want you to be happy.” As happy as possible. Tony doesn’t know what he’s doing with a kid, but he’s trying. His parents didn’t create a happy person, but he sure as hell can be better. 

“I am happy.”

They just stare at each other, this thing suffocating both of them.

“Can I meet him?” Can I meet him and run a complete background check, he thinks.

Peter nods. “I think you should.”

Immediately, Tony feels better. He pulls Peter into his side and kisses his head. “I promise, no embarrassing stories.”

The kid leans into him. Wraps both his arms around him. They stay like that for a long moment. Long enough that Tony is acutely aware it’s the most physical contact they’ve had since May’s funeral. 

“Bring him around any time you like, okay? You don’t have to sneak around all the time. To be honest, I was worried, kid.”

Peter pulls away. He still looks upset about something.

“You know I’ll probably like whoever it is just fine, right?” Until a heart gets broken, anyway.

Peter looks at him sharply. Maybe that is the problem then.

They get caught up on a new series of some show Peter has on often in the background when he’s doing his homework. It’s a bright happy sort of show. The kind of thing Peter watches with such a far away look that Tony wonders if the kid’s unhappiness stems further down than he can ever reach. The hard truth that it’s not Tony at all, and it’s not something he can help or fix. 

Of course, Tony put his foot in his mouth without realizing it, because that very next weekend Peter brings the boy around, and Tony wants to shake both himself and Peter.

“Hi, sir.” He holds out a hand to shake, and if Tony squeezes his sweaty palm a little harder than necessary, well. “I’m Flash Thompson.”

Tony knows who Flash is. Peter knows that Tony knows who Flash is. That’s why the kid has been so shifty about everything. 

His brilliant and stupid kid is dating his childhood bully. Of course. 

Tony isn’t sure what his face looks like. Peter looks a little green watching him, so he tries to smile. 

“A new friend, huh?”

Flash at least has the decency to look a little sheepish at that. He takes his hand back and reaches for Peter’s. Tony can see him squeeze Peter’s hand, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He’s nervous for Peter, Tony realizes. 

“Pete told me you’ve been dating awhile now.”

Flash smiles, and it seems so open and genuine that Tony’s almost taken aback. If he expected the kid to look guilty about his old career in his now boyfriend’s life, well. He certainly doesn’t. Actually, he radiates a kind of confidence that is rare to see in someone, especially someone so young. 

“It took some convincing. After I stopped being such a jerk and we did actually become friends.”

I bet, is all Tony can think.

The three of them go out for dinner - Tony insists the boys pick, which turns into Flash insisting that Peter picks. Flash only has eyes for his kid, Tony thinks, watching the two of them in the back seat. Of course, he’s got to know Tony will be watching. 

Flash does all the talking at the Peruvian place they go. Peter is clearly nervous. He won’t look at either of them. Tony is still a little stunned that it’s Flash Thompson of all people - a kid who’s reputation unfortunately proceeds him. It’s probably the quietest dinner he’s ever had on his part. He tries to save face, but he’s too busy looking for cracks in the show. 

By the time they’re on the way back to the tower and Tony has to watch the two of them disappear into Peter’s room to do God knows what, he thinks about everything Flash said during the meal.

He talked about himself a little - about his hopes for the future. Where he wants to go to school. What he wants to major in. The basketball team. 

Mostly though, he talked a lot about him and Pete. How they waited in line for three hours to get some kind of trendy ice cream because Ned wanted to go. How just the two of them wrote an one act play to enter into the school’s drama department’s spring showcase. How the two of them are excited to work on something in physics class together - a cardboard boat for a regatta that happens at the end of the year where they are guaranteed to eventually sink in the frigid Hudson. 

He realizes that Flash just gave him the Peter update he’s been craving. He spent the whole night trying to give Tony what he wanted, but also put Peter at ease. 

He leaves them alone for a couple of hours, keeping an eye on the time. He knows they’re teenage boys, and while it’s one thing to know your kid is probably sexually active, it’s another to sit in a room nearby and let it happen. Tony isn’t that level of cool mom, and he doesn’t think he should be either.

Before he can knock on the door though, the boys emerge from Peter’s room holding hands, and Tom’s heart breaks with relief when he sees the smile on his kid’s face. He walks Flash to the elevator and gives him a short kiss before the other boy leaves.

Peter collapses on the couch next to Tony with that same dazed look in his eye, but this time there aren’t tears lurking behind it.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

Over the next few weeks, then months, Flash doesn’t go anywhere. In fact, Peter is home a lot more again - sometimes with the boyfriend, sometimes not. The first time the three of them tinker in the lab together is a good day - Tony has FRIDAY take some pictures and upload for him to look through later. He makes sure to send his favorite to Peter.

And Peter just smiles. And laughs. He’s present in a way that he hasn’t really been since he came to live with Tony. Almost like the Peter he met years ago, before Germany, before May. The kid was so worked up over something so small that Tony still feels a little guilty about it, but then again. 

“It’s my job to worry about you, kid.” He can confidently say that now. I’m yours. You’re mine. 

Peter just rolls his eyes at him and puts in his earbuds on the way out the door.

“Yes, Dad.” He teases. 

“Don’t sass me. No party for you then.” 

They’ve gotten better with the boundaries. Tony cracks down on overnight stays, but makes sure to give them some privacy when they’re together in the tower. He doesn’t track Peter even when he really wants to, because sometimes it’s a guessing game of is it patrol or is it the boyfriend? Peter always checks in no matter what. 

Tony becomes okay that his kid is earnestly dating a boy who calls himself Flash who may not have been the best in the past, but Tony wasn’t the best in the past either. Growth. 

Besides, the name by itself gives Tony plenty of fuel. He’s teasing his kid, following him into Peter’s room when he notices that Peter finally added something to it - a simple framed photo. It’s the one Tony sent from that day in the lab. 

They become a family. Boundaries and all.


End file.
